Bird lovers and bibliophiles: Audubon’s “Birds of America” is now the most expensive book in the world! Well, it’s at least the most expensive published book that has been sold. The price? $10,270,000 at Sotheby’s auction house.

An anonymous telephone bidder bought the book, described by the Associated Press as “one of the best preserved editions of Audubon’s 19th-century masterpiece.” But you don’t need $10 million to see Audobon’s book — so long as you’re willing to settle for a much lower-resolution, online version of the book, available to browse on Audobon’s website. (via Jacket Copy)

And of course, you can simply choose to see the birds in real life — while helping with the work of bird-friendly environmental nonprofit Audobon. Audobon’s annual Christmas bird count, an early winter bird census, kicks off Dec. 14 and continues through Jan. 5.

According to Audobon, the data collected is used “to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.” Become a citizen scientist and help with this work by signing up to participate in a count near you.

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